INSTITUTE, W.VA. – West Virginia State Volleyball extended their win streak to six and have now won 18 consecutive sets Tuesday, sweeping Central State (25-16, 25-11, 25-14) at Walker Convocation Center.

"Another home victory and we take those personally," Head Coach Kris Kern said of the win. "It was great to see everyone play while we rested some key front line players as we get ready for Tennessee this weekend."

The match had 22 Yellow Jackets make an appearance, and collectively hit at a strong .341 hitting percentage. The duo of sophomore Natalie Beer and junior Diamond'Nique Young each tallied six kills, with fellow third-year Kiersten Eggleton following closely with five. She added four aces.

Freshman Kennedy Stanley was impressive with three kills on a .750 efficiency, also tallying an ace and two blocks.  

The opening stanza was a closely contested battle before State secured four consecutive points, including three aces in a row from Eggleton, to take a 14-10 lead. From there the Yellow Jackets used another 4-0 rally (and another two aces- these coming from Davis) to add cushion, going up 19-12.

The Marauders attempted to trim the deficit, but kills from Beer and Young late pushed WVSU to set point, the set being sealed 25-16 on yet another ace from Eggleton.

The Yellow Jackets continued, picking up the first three points of the second set and then turned in a 7-0 rally that featured a pair of blocks from Young and freshman Kennedy Stanley to go up 10-2 and force a Central State timeout.

Upon returning from the huddle, State continued to dominate, tallying a pair of points off Beer and Young kills to build a 12-2 advantage. The Yellow Jackets maintained a double-digit lead until the 23-10 mark, including a 6-0 sequence that featured both an ace and kill from Stanley. After a Central State error brought the frame to set point, rookie Ryleigh Clayborn sealed the set 25-11 with her first collegiate kill, putting State ahead 2-0 in the match.

The Yellow Jackets opened up the third frame in similar fashion, putting up five unanswered points to open Set 3, including a pair of aces from junior Alex Darby. After a scattered trio of two-point runs put State up 11-3, WVSU turned in a 10-rally to increase their lead to a commanding 21-4 point lead.

Central State attempted to narrow the margin once more using a trio of three-point runs, but the threat was thwarted after Eggleton tallied the decisive final slam, giving State the 25-14 score and a 3-0 match victory.

The ace and block were the first of her career for Stanley.

UP NEXT
State will once again return to the road, heading to Jackson, Tenn., for the Union University Invite, where they'll face four squads across the two-day event. Live stats and video will be available for all contests.